Chapter 18 - Saving Grace

So pretty and, oh, so bold
Got a heart full of gold on a lonely road
She said, "I don't even think that God can save me" (save me)

(Am I) gainin' ground
(Am I) losin' face
(Have I) lost and found my saving grace
Thankful for the gift my angels gave me

Claire Sawyer walked nervously back to her office. It had been since cleaned and patched up from the vandalism attack it suffered shortly after her own ordeal. She was stopping in after a day of making the press rounds as the human advocate for improving vampire rights in Canada to check for any new messages or mail. Claire carefully went through the mail, mostly hate messages courtesy of the New Sarepta Church of the People calling her a whore and fang-banger. Claire angrily put all the hate mail through a paper shredder as she held back tears. She tried her best to be brave through all the ad hominem attacks to her character, but being chastised on national television was starting to eat away at her tough façade. Once she finished shredding the last letter, there was a knocking on her locked front door. Feeling scared, Claire reached underneath her skirt and removed a small hand gun that was concealed on her inner thigh – a last line of defense she had carried since her gang rape. Claire cocked the gun and slowly made her way to the front. She looked out the window and saw two men, one really tall and one of average height, standing outside her door. “Who are you?” Claire shouted through the window. The men barely heard her but through the muffled insulation of the window, the average man shouted back “Miss Sawyer? We are from Hollywood. We wish to discuss the Roberts case with you.” Claire cautiously unlocked the door and let the men in. The tall man - who had longish hair with an obvious comb-over, noticed the gun in Claire’s hand and said very politely to Claire “Please put the gun away. We are very non-violent and it makes me rather uncomfortable.”

“Oh, sorry,” Claire nervously obliged. “I’ve just been through a lot lately.”

“Yes we are aware of your plight,” the average build man also politely and quietly told Claire. He then introduced himself and his partner. “I’m Jeff Flint and this is Tyler Kind. We’re from Wolfram & Hart, the firm that is representing the plaintiffs in Mister Roberts’ suit.”

“This seems a little peculiar,” Claire said with hesitation.

“Not really, Miss Sawyer,” Kind said very quietly and politely. “Lately our Senior Partners have been wanting us to handle particular cases in a quiet, personal manner.”

“Very quiet and personal, indeed, Mister Kind.” Flint added.

“Well that’s all fine and dandy, but what does this have to do with me?” Claire asked.

“Our clients wish for an out-of-court settlement with your client,” Flint replied.

“Indeed they do, Mister Flint,” Kind added.

“Settle out of court? I just sent the paperwork yesterday and they want to settle now?” Claire asked in shock.

“Like I said, our Senior Partners want to do things efficiently and quietly,” Flint answered. “Isn’t that right, Mister Kind.”

“Undoubtedly, Mister Flint,” Kind said. Shaking her head in disbelief, Claire asked the two men “All right, what is the terms of the settlement then?” Flint then handed over a legal document to Claire, who briefly skimmed through it. “I’ll have to double check with my client to see if he is willing to accept these terms.”

“But of course,” Flint politely acknowledged.

“We would not expect not less,” Kind added in as well.

“Well if that is the case, it’s been an odd pleasure to do business with you,” Claire said as she shook the hands of Flint and Kind.

“Quite a pleasure, Miss Sawyer. We will be in town for a few days. Call us any time to let us know. Shall we leave now, Mister Kind?” Flint said.

“Indeed, Mister Flint,” Kind replied. The two of them politely and quietly left Claire’s office and began to walk to their car.

“He would be nuts not to accept the offer, wouldn’t you say so, Mister Kind?” Flint asked his larger associate as the two got into a restored classic Cadillac car. Kind replied back with a dry non-sequitur “But even a blind squirrel can eventually find a nut, Mister Flint.”

“Of course, Mister Kind,” Flint noted. “Shall we meet with our other clients?”

“Yes indeed we should, Mister Flint,” Kind acknowledged.


Simon Fererra and Cameron Swift both paced back and forth outside the interrogation room where Clarice Stanfield and Anya were being held in. Cameron’s face wore an expression of disinterest for being assigned as Simon’s temporary partner until Kaitlyn is cleared back for active duty. Simon’s face, on the other hand, show fatigue, annoyance, and frustration. “We’re not making any progress with these two at all!” Simon exclaimed with frustration, referring to Anya and Missus Stanfield.

“Well, their lawyers are coming in, maybe they’ll be willing to talk with them in the room,” Cameron said with optimism. Joan Sperling and Claudia Reimer-Williams walked into the hall and in a weird sense of clairvoyance, Sperling replied to Cameron’s thought “Don’t bet on it.”

Claudia added as well with disappointment “These two bloodsuckers got Wolfram & Hart as their barristers. And if they’re still using Detective Russo as a deal breaker, well, I got nothing to offer at the moment.”

“Doesn’t hot and crazy in there know Russo’s out of commission because of her?” Simon asked, referring to Anya.

“Believe me, everyone has told her that but she’s been rather… insistent that Russo does the interrogation,” Sperling answered.

“So why are they even bothering with the lawyers then?” Cameron asked.

“Because they’re being held without due process,” Claudia replied. “It’s a goodwill gesture courtesy of the federal government. Let the vampire community think they’ll be treated fairly if given the same rights…”

Simon interrupted “… While giving fanatics like Pastor Love think these fangers are gonna fry in the government’s hands, right?”

“Don’t even mention that man’s name in my presence,” Claudia said with total disdain. “It’s bad enough he’s got his legal team championing Charlie Lamb as some sort of vampire-slaying martyr.”

“Which is what our two guests are claiming to be as well in a sense – political prisoners,” Sperling added.

“Well that’s fucking great!” Simon sarcastically said. “Everyone’s a political prisoner now!” By that time, Flint and Kind made their presence felt as they walked into the room. Kind was the first to speak “Except in our case, our clients are that. Wouldn’t you agree Mister Flint?”

“Of course, Mister Kind,” Flint said in agreement. “Our clients are being held here as scapegoats. The evidence is circumstantial at the least. And one of their requests have not been met by anyone here on law enforcement’s side.”

“Well can someone here remind Penn and Teller that Detective Russo is on leave because of their clients?!” Simon asked, looking at both Flint and Kind.

“Really? Was our clients the four men who allegedly attacked her? Because I see two women in there, don’t you as well, Mister Kind?” Flint asked

“I do as well, Mister Flint,” Kind replied. Rather annoyed by Flint and Kind’s routine, Claudia Reimer-Williams spoke up, “But one of your clients there has constantly harassed and assaulted the officer in question. Having her conduct any interrogations would be a conflict of interest.”

“Well then, that may changes things a bit.” Flint said, feeling a little disappointed. “Could you give us a few minutes to discuss things with our clients?”

“Yeah, sure, why not.” Claudia agreed reluctantly. Both Flint and Kind nodded approvingly as they walked into the room. The two attorneys took to the table and began discussing things with their clients. Sperling pressed a one-way intercom button so they could be privy to the conversation. They joined in progress with Flint saying “… We were not made aware that you had a prior history with this Russo woman.”

“It would have been prudent for the two of you to have given the information when you enlisted our services, right Mister Flint?” Kind said and asked his partner who in turn politely answered. “Of course Mister Kind.” Anya rolled her eyes and slammed her hands on the table in frustration. She then shouted at the two men “Look, I don’t what kind of vaudeville routine you two monkeys are working here, but we’re paying you to get us out of here by any means necessary!”

“Relax, we have an idea in mind,” Flint calmly said.

“An idea which may be crazy enough to work,” Kind added. Clarice spoke “See? I told you our allies in L.A. would send two of their best to get us out of here.”

“I’m still not convinced!” Anya pouted.

“Trust us, we have not lost a case yet, isn’t that right Mister Flint?” Kind said.

“Indeed, Mister Kind…” Flint answered. By this time, Claudia Reimer-Williams turned off the intercom. “Think we heard enough,” Claudia said with disdain in her tone.

“So we’re back to square one, huh?” Cameron asked.

“I dunno, if they want Russo that bad, I say we give her to them.” Sperling said.

“With all due respect, that would be the worst thing we can do,” Simon objected.

“What other choice do we have?” Claudia asked. She then added “As much as it pains me to suggest it, but we need Russo back in here by any means necessary if we’re going to get a foothold in this case.”

“So we’re willing to damage a possibly already fragile psyche for a lead?” Simon asked and clearly expressing his disapproval.

“If it means getting one step closer to solving everything here, I say we consider it,” Sperling said with some hesitation in her voice. “Fererra? You’re the closest to Russo, go and get her to come back here. Use any means.” Simon simply sighed and gave a salute before saying “Yes, ma’am,” as he left visibly showing his discomfort. Outside in the hall, Simon talked to himself, “Lord, I know you and I haven’t been on speaking terms for some time, but forgive me for what I’m about to do – I’m going to have to mentally break a close friend and colleague of mine for a higher purpose.”


Kaitlyn Russo returned to her suite, feeling a little more optimistic about things, but still stuck in her mini-depressed state. Carrying a nondescript brown bag that she stuck under her arm to open her door, Kaitlyn entered her suite to see Claire Sawyer, Amy Moore, Grant Roberts, and Seth Rollins all gathered around the living room table. Seth was wearing a gaudy-looking sombrero. Looking confused, Kaitlyn asked “What is going on here?”

“They decided to settle!” Seth proudly announced.

“Yes, I guess they didn’t want to risk alienating their cash cows so they gave me a generous offer and a promise to treat my kind with a little more respect and reverence.” Grant modestly said.

“So we’re all getting ready to go out to celebrate this wonderful news!” Amy said proudly as she hugged Grant, who seemed a bit uncomfortable with Amy’s public display of affection.

“Well, everyone except for Senor Sombrero over there,” Claire added as she looked at Seth. “Anyways, care to join us?”

“It’s alright, still not in a celebratory mood,” Kaitlyn declined the offer.

“Well, we’ll be at the Fox and Whistle if you change your mind,” Amy said as she, Claire, and Grant made their way out and locked the door behind them. Kaitlyn took in a deep breath as she flopped down onto the couch. Seth was still there, eyeballing the bag that Kaitlyn put onto the coffee table. “Yay! Another night together,” Seth exclaimed. “Hopefully you’re in a more cheerful mood after talking with our respective paranormal therapist.”

“Well depends,” Kaitlyn said as she removed the contents of the bag – a bottle of vodka.

“Woah! Woah! Woah!” Seth said, waving his arms furiously. “Haven’t you been sober for quite some time now?!”

“Talking didn’t really help,” Kaitlyn said as she got up to the kitchen and got a couple of shot glasses. She then added “Crying my eyes out didn’t help. Figured this is my last saving grace,” as she sat down at the couch and poured the vodka into the glasses.

“Are, are you sure you want to go down this road?” Seth asked.

“Since when did you become my conscience?” Kaitlyn asked back.

“Look, as much as I seem to come off as a self-centered jerk-ass, I don’t want to see you revert back to your old habits,” Seth said. “That and the old you used to scare the life out of me, if I didn’t already have the life in me ran over by a drunk child molesting priest.”

“Well if I should go back to my old ways,” Kaitlyn said as she drank both shots within seconds of each other, “I want you to do everything you can to make sure I don’t hurt anyone here. In particular Grant and Amy.”

“And I don’t hurt?” Seth asked.

“You’re a ghost, what’s the worst I can do to you?” Kaitlyn asked as she downed another two shots of vodka.


Sergei Koloff examined the crime scene of the Navajo man, whose body was discovered by a pair of Education students leaving for the night. The body had since been removed but Sergei still looked at the blood patterns on the ground. Paw prints. At least three distinct prints on the ground. Even more troubling to Sergei was reading a message scrawled in blood and also in Cyrillic alphabet on the parkade wall. The message was “Get Out While You Can.” Sergei wrote the translated version onto a notepad as he then noticed another pattern amongst another blood splatter. It too was in Cyrillic writing. This one was a single word, a last name that Sergei was intrigued to see once again: Russo. Still feeling guilty for allowing Kaitlyn to be left vulnerable at the hands of the Bratstvo Kresta, Sergei decided in his head that he needs to resolve that issue now. As well as this message was obviously meant for Kaitlyn, and he needed to know why.


“This wasn’t my first choice of a career, ya know?” Cameron Swift told Simon Fererra as he drove up Saskatchewan Drive. “I wanted to remain as an in-office support officer. But no, I decided to go into vice. And now since the new chief wants to combat vampires, I don’t even know where I am supposed to be anymore.”

“You and me both, Swifty,” Simon said, also sounding disillusioned with the current policy shift.

“Hey, I like that. Maybe we’ll become a regular team. Swift and Fererra. Sounds like a good seventies cop show team, or a late eighties WWF jobber team that were whipping boys for like Demolition or The Fabulous Rougeaus.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Simon said to Cameron.

“See? At least you get me. Sergei looks at me weird whenever I make any kind of reference.” Cameron said. “When he described the behavior of the Bratstvo Kresta to me, I likened them to The Nexus,” Cameron paused as Simon also looked at him confused. He then added, “Guess I’m one of the few still into modern day pro wrestling, huh?”

“Mixed martial arts is the new hotness, Swifty” Simon added.

“Yeah,” Cameron went on to change the subject: “So you’re really going ahead with bringing back Russo, huh?”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Simon replied back. “Why would Sperling be so strict about Kaitlyn and then do a total one-eighty on her stance?”

“Maybe she knows something we don’t know?” Cameron asked back.

“Who? Sperling or Russo?”

“Maybe both.”


With the bottle of vodka three-quarters gone, Kaitlyn Russo found herself sprawled over her couch. Her stereo loudly playing 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up”. Seth Rollins looked on with concern as Kaitlyn drunkenly sang along with the song. “And so I cry sometimes,” she loudly sang, “When I'm lying in bed, just to get it all out what's in my head and I am feeling a little peculiar.” She then staggered up and used the bottle as a surrogate microphone, “And so I wake in the morning and I step outside and I take a deep breath and I get real high and I scream at the top of my lungs what’s going on?” Kaitlyn then fell backwards onto the couch as she laughed and sobbed at the same time. Seth took away the bottle and told Kaitlyn “All right, think that’s enough of that.” He then turned off the stereo.

“And I thought I was the killjoy!” Kaitlyn drunkenly slurred. “And quit that loud thumping while you’re at it too!” she shouted, not knowing someone was knocking on her door.

“It better not be that Mormon couple three doors down,” Seth at he peaked through the door’s peephole. “Well, great, it’s the werewolf hunter,” he said as recognized Sergei Koloff on the outside.

“Sergei?” Kaitlyn asked as she stumbled towards the door. “What do you think he wants?”

“Well whatever it is, he doesn’t need to see you in this condition.” Seth warned Kaitlyn.

“Just shush your mouth and make yourself scarce” Kaitlyn said as she clumsily unlocked the door and used the frame to keep herself stable.

“Miss Russo?” Sergei asked with concern, “ Are you alright?”

“Never better,” Kaitlyn slurred as she struggled to remain upright. “Please by all means come in.” Sergei slowly made his way in as Kaitlyn staggered over to the couch and landed front first on the cushions.

“This,” Sergei said with concern, “Is not a side of you I have never seen.” He then noticed the nearly empty vodka bottle and then it made sense to him.

“I had nowhere else to turn to,” Kaitlyn quietly sobbed. “My dad would be all like ‘You’re a Russo! Russos don’t cry at funerals!’”

“Still in shock about your friend’s death, I take it?” Sergei asked as he sat on the floor, listening to Kaitlyn’s drunken ramblings. She went on “Yeah, and then I froze back there and allowed myself to be a victim again! Why do I put myself in those situations?”

“Actually, it was my fault that the Bratstvo Kresta have targeted you,” Sergei said as he noticed Kaitlyn settling into a sleeping position. His intentions of telling her about the message left for her were gone for the moment.

“And that Anya bitch! I wish someone would get her out of my head!” Kaitlyn shouted as she grabbed a blanket. “God, I wish I could not always feel like the victim!”

“You are a victim if you allow everyone who has hurt you to know you fear them,” Sergei told her.

“Easy for you to say, you never show any fear!”

“True, but believe you me, I too still hurt from my sister’s death. It has shaped me to be the man I am today.”

“But is it really worth it? Holding onto so much pain to avenge her death? How do you know you ever will do so?” Kaitlyn asked Sergei. “There are days I wonder the same as well, but I try not to let it eat at me too much. One day I know I will find the animal who took her life so suddenly, even if it means hunting down every single werewolf.”

“Sounds like someone has a problem too of letting go,” Kaitlyn said as she yawned and struggled to remain awake. Her alcohol-fueled binge was catching up.

“Then I guess I am the wrong person to seek advice on letting go then, huh?” Sergei asked. Kaitlyn replied “Nahh, it just makes you flawed as the rest of us I suppose. Maybe I need to give up the notion of being a super cop and realize I can’t protect them all, especially myself.”

“We all have our obsessions I suppose, but making a positive out of them is the true strength of one’s character I think. What do you think, Miss Russo?” Sergei asked as he noticed Kaitlyn was now passed out. Feeling like his presence was no longer needed, Sergei got up and began to leave, but not before making sure Kaitlyn was comfortable on the couch. Sergei was unaware that the door was still open as Simon Fererra and Cameron Swift made their way in cautiously. With Simon seeing Sergei over Kaitlyn, Simon lost his temper again. “You son of a bitch!” he quietly sneered as he pushed Sergei into the wall. “You look into her history and this is how you treat her?!” he berated Sergei.

“I do not understand,” Sergei said, struggling to break free from Simon, who had now pulled out his revolver. Cameron freaked out and tried to play peacekeeper “Hey, look, we’re all on edge here. Let’s not do something here we’re gonna regret.”

“Hey, this asshole crossed the line here tonight!” Simon shouted. “Or did you not realize someone else did the same thing to her fifteen years ago?!”

“She was already drunk when I arrived!” Sergei replied back. “I had no intentions of taking advantage of her!” “Bullshit!” Simon yelled as he was about to pull the trigger when the least expected intervener – Seth Rollins, standing beside Cameron – spoke up. “Yeah, he’s right. Kaitlyn was pretty trashed before he came here. They just talked. Nothing happened,” Seth said as all three officers looked on in disbelief. Seth then looked around, not realizing he had just exposed himself. “Oh, shit!” Seth exclaimed.

“Ever see anything like this before?” Simon asked Sergei as he placed his gun back in his holster.

“Not to my knowledge,” Sergei answered as he tried to comprehend what had just occurred.

“So then I’m not nuts and didn’t see a fashion reject from the late nineties appear out of thin air?” Cameron asked.

“’Fraid not, skippy!” Seth told Cameron. “Figured I’d show up and speak out. The condo board frowns upon brain matter being splattered on the walls.”

“I think when she wakes up, she has many things to explain,” Simon said as everyone else nodded in agreement and were grateful that Kaitlyn was a heavy sleeper during this pseudo Mexican standoff.